In 628 BC, Duke Wen of Jin, who had only been the overlord of the princes for four years, died, and his son Qi succeeded to the throne, known as the Duke of Jinxiang.
The change of monarchy occurred in only four years after the Jin state, which had oppressed the states, and the princes could not help but question whether the Jin state was still qualified to become an ally of the states. In this regard, Qin Mugong first launched a temptation against the Jin state.
In the second year after the death of Duke Wen of Jin, Duke Mu of Qin sent three doctors, Baili Mengmingshi, Xi Qishu, and Bai Yibing, to lead an army to attack the State of Zheng thousands of miles away. Zheng Guo was well prepared, and the Qin army destroyed the State of Shui, which was subordinate to the State of Jin, and returned to the State of Qin.
The Jin state's provocation against the Qin state decided to fight back. Therefore, the State of Jin not only launched the Jin army, but also recruited Jiang Rong's army to set up an ambush at Kunshan Mountain, the place where the Qin army must return to China, and defeated the Entire Qin Army, capturing the three Qin generals of Baili Mengmingshi, Xi Qishu, and Bai Yibing.
The Entire Qin Army was destroyed, and even the three commanders were captured by the Jin State, and Wen Wei, the Duke of Jin, who was born in the Qin State, was very unhappy. So she asked the Duke of Jin Xiang to release the three Qin masters back to the Qin state.
Duke Xiang of Jin agreed, perhaps because it was not easy to refuse the request of the elders, or perhaps because he wanted to suppress the arrogance of the old minister of Jin Wen. Unfortunately, instead of being suppressed, the arrogance of the old minister of Jin Wen was almost burned to the eyebrows of The Duke of Jin Xiang.
The old minister of the Jin Dynasty, Xianxun, was very angry at the act of the Duke of Jin Xianggong in releasing the three masters of the Qin State, and after teaching the Duke of Jin Xianggong a lesson, he even spit on the ground in front of the Duke of Jinxiang.
The Duke of Jin Xiang did not get angry at Xianxun's rudeness, or even react otherwise, but calmly sent Dafu Yang to pursue the three Qin masters. However, when Yang's father was about to pursue him, the three Qin masters were already in the Middle Of the Yellow River by boat, and they could not catch up. Among them, Meng Mingshi also said harshly that after three years, he would come to thank the Jin State for his gifts.
Three years ago, four months after the Jin state successfully ambushed the Qin army, the Di people attacked the Jin state. During the reign of Duke Wen of Jin, the Di people did not dare to attack the Jin state at all, and even attacked the central plains states when the Jin state had no time to take care of it. Now that the new monarch of the Jin Dynasty had just been established, even if he had only defeated the Qin army, the Di people dared to brazenly attack Jin, which showed the low prestige of the Duke of Jin.
The prestige of the Duke of Jin Xiang was relatively low compared to that of the Duke Wen of Jin, but the strength of the State of Jin during the Period of Duke Xiang of Jin was not inferior to that of the Duke of Jin. Moreover, the Duke of Jin Xiang was not a self-conscious person, and did not interfere in the decision-making of a group of old ministers in power in the Jin State, but only accepted it with an open mind.
Therefore, although the prestige of the Jin Xianggong was low, the strength of the Jin state did not weaken. For this attack of the Di people, The Duke of Jin Xiang personally led an army to meet the Di people at Jidi and defeated the Di people. Lao Chenxian died in this battle, and he went into the Di camp to ask for death, as a atonement for his rude sins in front of the Duke of Jinxiang.
Jin Xianggong first defeated the Qin army and then defeated the Di people, but his challenge was not over.
In the same year, after the new Chu state ordered Yin Zishang to lead an army to attack Chen and Cai, forcing the two countries to submit to the Chu state again, he escorted the pro-Chu prince Zheng Guo into the Zheng state as the monarch. Unfortunately, Gongzi Feng was captured and killed in the war that Zheng Guo resisted. The Chu army could only retreat.
After the Jin state had resolved the war between the Qin army and the Di people, it sent Yang Tofu to attack the state of Cai, with the intention of forcing the state of Cai to turn to the state of Jin again. The State of Chu sent troops to rescue the State of Cai. The Jin army blocked the Chu army on the banks of the water, and the Chu army did not dare to cross the river under the eyes of the Jin army. So the Jin and Chu armies faced each other across the water.
The Jin army labor division expedition, the commander Yang Chu father was a little worried that a long-term confrontation would be unfavorable to the Jin army, so he sent someone to Chu Ling Yin Zi and said: "If you want to fight, I will retreat thirty miles and let you cross the river to line up, otherwise it will not be good for anyone to do so." ”
Zishang wanted to cross the river, but the Chu state doctor next to him was frightened by the cunning of the Jin state in the Battle of Chengpu, and advised Zishang not to cross the river to prevent the Jin army from attacking halfway. As a result, the Chu army withdrew.
A year of challenges for the Jin Dynasty passed, and the Duke of Jin Xiang undoubtedly took over the hegemony of the Duke wen of Jin. Then it was time to consolidate the hegemony of the Jin dynasty.
At first, Wei Chenggong took advantage of the serious illness of Duke Wen of Jin in his later years and the death of Zheng Wengong to send The Weiguo Grand Master Kong Da to attack Zheng Guo. Now, after solving the external troubles, the Jin State thought of teaching a lesson to defend the country in order to maintain the majesty of the hegemons of the various countries.
At this time, Xian's son Xianju advised The Duke of Jin xiang not to follow the example of weiguo in attacking the brotherly country at will, but to report to Zhou Tianzi first, and then send troops to attack Weiguo.
Therefore, The Duke of Jin Xiang went to see Zhou Tianzi, and Xianju and Xu Chen led an army to attack the Qidi of weiguo. A month later, the Jin army captured Qidi and captured Sun Zhaozi, the grand master of Qidi.
Wei Guo asked Chen Guo what to do about this. Chen Guo was one of the closest states to the State of Chu among the Central Plains states, and he was most concerned about the strength and weakness of the State of Chu and the hegemonic State of the Central Plains. Therefore, Chen Gonggong suggested that Weiguo attack the Jin state in order to test the Jin state's hypocrisy, and promised to make peace with the Jin state for the sake of the Wei state afterwards.
However, Wei Chenggong was not a fool, he only tentatively attacked the Jin state, and did not expand the war. The Jin state's response to this was to formally assign the Qi land of the Wei state to the Jin state.
The following year, the Jin state summoned the princes on the grounds of the Jin and Wei wars and reaffirmed the covenant of harmonious coexistence between the princes. Chen Gonggong gave Kong Da, the Grand Master of the Weiguo, to the Jin State in this alliance to ask for peace with the Jin State on behalf of the Wei State.
Prior to this, Meng Mingshi, the Grand Master of the State of Qin, led an army to attack the Jin State in retaliation for the Battle of Kun, but was defeated by the army led by Jin Xianggong at Peng ya.
After the Battle of Pengya, the Jin state was more powerful, so he sent troops to attack the state of Lu to punish the king of the state of Lu for not going to the Jin state to meet the Duke of Jin, and Lu Wengong hurried to set off for the Jin state. After Duke Wen of Lu arrived in the State of Jin, the people of the State of Jin asked the Grand Master of the State of Jin to make an alliance with Duke Wen of Jin to humiliate him.
At the end of the year, the more majestic Jin Dynasty Emperor Xian and Ju led an army together with their own troops led by Gongzi Cheng of the Song State, Chen Guoyuanxuan, and Zheng Guo Gongzi Guisheng to attack the Qin State, occupying the Qin state of Wang Di and Peng Ya as a retaliation for the Qin army's attack on the Jin state.
The following year, Duke Mu of Qin raised an army of the State of Qin to attack the State of Jin. After crossing the Yellow River, the Qin army burned all the boats crossing the river, and showed the determination of the Qin and Jin sides to attack this time.
Sure enough, the jin monarchs did not dare to attack the Qin army and allowed the Qin army to occupy the land of the king's officials. Qin Mugong saw that the Jin army could not hold out, so he buried the Qin army that died in the Battle of Kunshan, and then led his army back to Qin from Maojin.
Although the Qin army's attack on the Jin state did not cause much damage to the Jin state, it curbed the momentum of the Jin state's coercion over the states. In addition, a bunch of old ministers of the Duke wen of Jin were already in the wind, and their lives were not long gone. The Jin state had to wake up from the mentality of solipsism, and the Duke of Jin Xiang also began to turn his attention to the old ministers of the Jin WenGong who were about to die and the power in their hands.
After that, the Duke of Jinxiang re-invited Duke Lu Wen to the Jin Dynasty and solemnly entertained Duke Lu Wen to show his attention to the State of Lu. For the solicitation of Weiguo, the Weiguo doctor Kong Da, who was previously detained, was returned to Weiguo. For the Chu state to attack the Jiangguo, it was only to send a partial division to make a show. At this time, the energy of the Duke of Jin Xiang was all focused on the replacement of military power in the Jin state.
Three years after Qin Mugong attacked Jin, the old ministers Zhao Wan, Luan Zhi, XianHeju, and Xu Chen during the Jin Wengong period died successively. The three armies of the Jin Dynasty officially ushered in the moment of power reorganization.
Duke Xiang of Jin originally planned to suppress the power of the old ministers of jin led by Zhao, Xian, and Hu, and promote other nobles of the Jin state to strengthen the monarchy. However, Xian Ke, the son of Xianju, was dissatisfied with this, and he told the Duke of Jin Xiang that the Zhao and Hu families had made outstanding achievements, so how could they seize the military power of the two families?
Seeing that the most powerful military group in the Jin Dynasty was dissatisfied, Jin Xiang listened to Xianke's advice to avoid possible turmoil. However, although it was impossible to deprive the Jin Wen gong of the power of the old ministers, it was possible to fine-tune the division of power within them to alienate them.
Therefore, the Duke of Jin Xiang appointed Zhao Dun, the new head of the Zhao clan who should have been the most powerful, as the deputy commander of the Chinese army, the position of Yaqing; the slightly inferior Fox Guzhao was appointed as the commander of the Chinese army, the position of Zhengqing.
Zhao Shi certainly couldn't accept this. At this time, Yang Chu, who was already highly prestigious in the Jin army, adjusted the status of Zhao Dun and Fox Gu Shooting one by one, and the commander of Zhao Dun's Chinese Army, Jin Guo Zhengqing, and the deputy commander of the Fox Gu Shooting Army, Jin Guo Yaqing.
As an old subordinate of Zhao Wan, Yang Was largely an agent of Zhao Wan, and Zhao Wan, with his wisdom and skill, was almost the leader of the old minister faction of the Duke of Jin. Therefore, for Yang's father's decision to change the selection of the commander of the Chinese army, Jin Xianggong did not have the courage to change.
In August of that year, Duke Xiang of Jin died in reluctance.
Looking at the short but brilliant career of the ruler of the Jin Dynasty, it is not difficult to see that he had a broad mind, a keen vision, and a decisive decision-making. It was just that the inheritance of Jin Wengong was too heavy, and just inheriting the hegemony of Jin Wengong made him exhausted. As for the old minister of Jin Wen, he could only do his best to obey the fate of heaven.
Therefore, for the death of Duke Xiang of Jin, it can be said that the legacy of Duke Wen of Jin is too heavy.